Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

    Once Providence got the two goal lead the game was essentially over. They do an awfully good job of packing it in from center ice down to the face off circles. UNH would have had to convert on the PP but sadly we have little idea how to do that. Getting the puck down low around the crease seems to be a lost art for the Wildcats. I watched the Northeastern-UConn game this afternoon and both teams knew how to get the puck to the net. Not quite sure why we can’t do the same.

    Comment


    • Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

      Originally posted by HockeyRef View Post
      Back
      Down
      To
      Earth
      Ya beat me to it 'Ref!

      No sense of urgency at all in the 3rd period down 3-1, not like we saw last night nor last week against NU. Pretty much mailed it in during the last ten minutes

      I will say this: They're in 8th place right now, two points ahead of Maine with one game in hand. The UConn weekend series I feel is going to dictate whether or not UNH is in the HE playoffs. And given that this is the worst special teams play that we have seen in some time, UNH could very easily join UVM and MC as the "outside teams looking in" come March. Can Souza figure it out? I honestly don't know.

      Just a frustrating game to watch tonight after playing so well for the past few weeks.....
      UNH

      Comment


      • Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

        PWR yoyo from 22 to 15 to 18 in ~26 hours. But, at least we gained four PWR slots on the weekend, and we are now ahead of Army (and remain ahead of Bentley by 32 PWR slots). :-)

        Comment


        • Originally posted by Snively65 View Post
          PWR yoyo from 22 to 15 to 18 in ~26 hours. But, at least we gained four PWR slots on the weekend, and we are now ahead of Army (and remain ahead of Bentley by 32 PWR slots). :-)
          Well there you go!! Top 20 is a good thing! Also want to say what a great job Filip Engaras is doing..8 points in 5 games! His goal last night showed what a good forward he is...tio of the cap to Sato and Crookshank as well.
          Last edited by HockeyRef; 01-19-2020, 06:09 AM.
          Here we go 'Cats!!

          Comment


          • Originally posted by HockeyRef View Post
            Well there you go!! Top 20 is a good thing! Also want to say what a great job Filip Engaras is doing..8 points in 5 games! His goal last night showed what a good forward he is...tio of the cap to Sato and Crookshank as well.
            AC now tied with eight others for 21st in number of goals scored in Div 1.

            Comment


            • Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

              Having to kill off five minute majors is never good, but I am OK with MacAdams taking one occasionally. His chippy play is a good thing.

              There is only so much practice time. Special teams will get better.

              Even with last night's result, the 'cats are learning how to win.
              I will not be out cheered in my own building.

              Comment


              • Originally posted by Darius View Post
                Having to kill off five minute majors is never good, but I am OK with MacAdams taking one occasionally. His chippy play is a good thing.

                There is only so much practice time. Special teams will get better.

                Even with last night's result, the 'cats are learning how to win.
                Appreciate this insight...
                Here we go 'Cats!!

                Comment


                • Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

                  Originally posted by Darius View Post
                  Having to kill off five minute majors is never good, but I am OK with MacAdams taking one occasionally. His chippy play is a good thing.

                  There is only so much practice time. Special teams will get better.

                  Even with last night's result, the 'cats are learning how to win.
                  I'm on board with most of this. I'd rather players stop short of getting DQ'ed, but accept that if you play with an edge, it's gonna happen at some point. IIRC Patrick Foley got a couple during his UNH career, and he was arguably the guy who pushed the 'Cats from being the SMT's to a team that was capable of playing with an edge, and (not coincidentally) won some big games/hardware.

                  Right now though, saying "special teams will get better" feels like we're just taking it on faith.

                  I didn't see last night's game in its entirety - actually all of the live-time scoring (pre-ENG) was done by the time I got back - but based on replays, I think Taylor (who took his first L of the season last night) will want to have that first goal allowed back. The second and third looked like poor net-front coverage by the UNH D, and I didn't see #5 since I shut things down after the ENG.

                  A split weekend would have been acceptable to most on here as of Friday afternoon, so I'm OK and look at it as a good step in the right direction. As Greg said, PC knows how to play with a lead, and UNH got no traction at all once they fell behind by two (right about when I first checked in). UMass will bring a different set of challenges next weekend. We'll see how MS7 and the boys cope.

                  UNH still has multiple games in hand on most of the rest of the league, and is still a game over .500 in the league (and 3 overall), so I'm not concerned about qualifying for the playoffs - yet. That should be a given for any team with a league record of .500 or above in an 11 team league where 8 teams qualify. But if they don't get something out of next weekend - even a tie allows them to stay at .500 in the league - and then they fail to take care of business in the next four (very) winnable games, it could get a little bit TOO interesting. But a split next weekend, and 7 or 8 points out of the following two weekends, and UNH should be right in the middle of the league standings, possibly still with a game or two in hand over many of the others around them there.

                  In the big picture, the bar is being gradually raised by UNH. They can be inconsistent and unpredictable, but they're winning a lot of games they would rarely have won in recent past seasons, and they're legitimately (slightly) over .500, and just outside the top 20 in PWR and in the polls. There seems to be more quality depth up and down the line-up than in recent past seasons, and there seems to be some positive action taking place on the recruiting front.

                  There's a lot of good reasons for optimism, but patience is going to be required. In retrospect, at this point two seasons ago, the program was bottoming out, and it took some time to dig out of that last season, but they managed to do that. This season, our discussions are about more advanced issues, and more optimistic (and realistic) goals. This year's team should better last year's outcomes on all fronts - we'll see soon enough if that turns into reality or not. Maybe the biggest thing we're seeing is that MS7's teams may be shedding UNH of its long-standing (and mostly well-deserved) reputation as fast starters and slow finishers. "Champions of November" didn't get attached to the 'Cats by accident. I think a lot of us - myself included - have been seasoned to expect the second-half backslide more often than not, and it was refreshing to see last year's team reverse that in MS7's first season in total command. Post-break this season, UNH stands at 4-2-0, with 3 of those games against ranked opponents. Good.

                  The reconditioning of the UNH program seems to be well underway. Signs are trending positively.

                  Wouldn't it be great if MS7's boss did something to turn up the volume to the outside world??
                  Sworn Enemy of the Perpetually Offended
                  Montreal Expos Forever ...

                  Comment


                  • Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

                    Originally posted by Darius View Post
                    Having to kill off five minute majors is never good, but I am OK with MacAdams taking one occasionally. His chippy play is a good thing.

                    There is only so much practice time. Special teams will get better.

                    Even with last night's result, the 'cats are learning how to win.
                    It just sucks that he was the biggest offensive presence we had on the ice last night. When I saw it was him that got the major (I saw the play happen but did not see who the player was) I figured that was going to be a big damper on the offense for the rest of the game, and it was. I was surprised both refs missed the call initially as it was right where they were all jamming for the puck in front of the UNH bench.

                    Comment


                    • Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

                      There are a lot of positive things going on with this program. The play of Taylor this season is much improved from last season. We have two pretty solid goalies. Yes, the first goal last night was from a very poor angle, but maybe it was more about the shooting accuracy of the Providence player. He found the few inches that were open.

                      The special teams are the main issues at this point of the season, especially the penalty kill. The more I look at the penalty kills and power play opportunities over the last few weeks one thing stands out to me, the face-off that starts the power play. If we win the draw and possession of the puck the chance of success (both penalty kill and power play) is a lot greater. I would make sure I had one of my best face-off players taking every draw. On the penalty kill, he could go for a line change as soon as we clear the zone. Focusing on face-off strategies and understanding their importance would go a long way with improving our special teams.

                      Comment


                      • Originally posted by Ray Dorn View Post
                        There are a lot of positive things going on with this program. The play of Taylor this season is much improved from last season. We have two pretty solid goalies. Yes, the first goal last night was from a very poor angle, but maybe it was more about the shooting accuracy of the Providence player. He found the few inches that were open.

                        The special teams are the main issues at this point of the season, especially the penalty kill. The more I look at the penalty kills and power play opportunities over the last few weeks one thing stands out to me, the face-off that starts the power play. If we win the draw and possession of the puck the chance of success (both penalty kill and power play) is a lot greater. I would make sure I had one of my best face-off players taking every draw. On the penalty kill, he could go for a line change as soon as we clear the zone. Focusing on face-off strategies and understanding their importance would go a long way with improving our special teams.
                        Face offs DO matter...who knew? Our stats in that dept have been better recently. Thanks for the perspective of just how important they can be. When you don't have the puck....
                        Here we go 'Cats!!

                        Comment


                        • Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

                          Originally posted by Ray Dorn View Post
                          There are a lot of positive things going on with this program. The play of Taylor this season is much improved from last season. We have two pretty solid goalies. Yes, the first goal last night was from a very poor angle, but maybe it was more about the shooting accuracy of the Providence player. He found the few inches that were open.
                          Watching the goal on video replay today … first issue was the defensive giveaway that led to the chance. But once that happened, then it was Taylor's fault on the shot for not holding the near post (left shoulder tucked up flush with the left corner of the net). Kudos to the PC kid for taking advantage of a challenging top-corner target, but if we're being honest here, those "few inches" never should have even been available for him to get a clean look at the net. Goalie play doesn't get any more basic than that.

                          Originally posted by Ray Dorn View Post
                          The special teams are the main issues at this point of the season, especially the penalty kill. The more I look at the penalty kills and power play opportunities over the last few weeks one thing stands out to me, the face-off that starts the power play. If we win the draw and possession of the puck the chance of success (both penalty kill and power play) is a lot greater. I would make sure I had one of my best face-off players taking every draw. On the penalty kill, he could go for a line change as soon as we clear the zone. Focusing on face-off strategies and understanding their importance would go a long way with improving our special teams.
                          With all due respect, having a designated face-off taker in high leverage situations (and shuttling him off the ice if necessary) is hardly a new concept. And unless that player is dead-solid money to win those draws, oftentimes against the best guy on the dot for the opposition, then if you don't win the draw, you're saddled with someone who might not be your best defender up top when you're handling the rest of the post-draw flow of play during the actual PK, especially if you don't make that initial clear. As long as he wins that initial draw - or if he's part of the regular PK unit - it's a good concept. But it falls apart if/when he doesn't - or isn't.

                          And if you lean on that same guy for the PP draws … again, he's likely up against one of the other team's best guys on the dot, and even if he wins the draw … if he's not one of the guys regularly assigned to your PP unit, you either have to live with a downgrade, or switch him out on the fly after the opposition clears, OR temporarily go down to 4 v.4 during your PP while you spend those few crucial seconds getting your face-off specialist off, and the regular PP guy on while in possession in the attack zone. The analytics don't weigh any of those details.

                          I'm sure MS7 is weighing all of this in what he and his staff are doing. From a coaching standpoint, the best solution is to just get your guys (all centers, and a few high usage wings for those times someone gets tossed) to be more proficient on the dot. The other stuff (i.e. one face-off specialist) is something that may make sense for pure numbers-crunchers, but ignores the realities of the up-and-down constant flow of the game. Some of this works better for games where there are defined breaks in the game, like baseball (pitches) and football (downs), but is way overrated for more meaningful applications to the constant motion games like hockey and soccer (and maybe even field hockey, in HR's honor).
                          Sworn Enemy of the Perpetually Offended
                          Montreal Expos Forever ...

                          Comment


                          • Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

                            Aw thanks Chuck for mentioning a sport near and dear to my heart...and yes, there are 'specialists' and set plays in the game. Its come along way and I hope the UNH team gets back to playing our Men's hockey team in the Spring for a fundraiser! Fun to see the guys coping with the fact you can only use one side of the stick!

                            I'd like to say thanks to the posters who spoke of the overall positiveness of the weekend, despite the loss. I was in def whining mode after Sat. nite but I think I just felt badly/was hoping they could have that sweep; for them. In reality, it really was a great weekend for UNH hockey. Could've been different; we got the split and in a road game at that. Right now we are seeing some upsets here and there and it really is true 'on any given night' so I like UNH's chances going forward. Loved reading the term 'patience' in reference to our re-building process and that is really the truth of it. No question if you listen to any of Coach Souza's pressers you get right away his ultimate sense of responsibility to creating a successful team and he owns what he needs to as well. The team is playing some decent hockey right now; I am confident in our 2 goalies (tenders?? ha) and with the stuff we've talked about (areas of improvement) they can do some damage! Go 'Cats!

                            Have a good week and here's to another big weekend...
                            Here we go 'Cats!!

                            Comment


                            • Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

                              Ok, almost two full pages here on FOW%, but why now? UNH was 51.3% in FOW this past weekend. Pierson, Blackburn, and Engaras took 92.9% of FO, or 105 out of 113. Who would we rather have taking FO's? Makes the most sense to me for the centers of the top three lines to take FO's because those lines are on the ice most of the time.

                              Now, I get the argument for having third and fourth line PK specialists while resting the top two lines for 5 on 5 and PP's, so a few FOs on the PK will need to be taken by the fourth line center.
                              Last edited by Snively65; 01-20-2020, 02:08 PM.

                              Comment


                              • Re: UNH Hockey: Treading Water or Trending Upward

                                Chuck - I didn’t copy your whole post as it was mostly off my topic ... in isolation your point on the first goal is spot on. And watching it happen live I had the same general reaction, he got beat in a gap that shouldn’t exist. I have a little more sympathy, apparently, because I think he had the same thought in his mind that I did which was the pass out front was imminent and he would have to slide over. There was an inadequately covered guy coming down the center and Taylor was trying to watch both players. Although he had the post (softly) his mind was leaning right. Unfortunately for us, the guy with the puck made a hell of a shot. But right up until he shot it I thought he was going to pass. Maybe Ty did as well. As a soccer guy you know how bad it can look when the goalie guesses wrong, but he still has to guess sometimes. All that said, he got beat and has to own it.
                                Whenever I think of the past, it brings back so many memories. - Stephen Wright

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X